Soothe your stomach with easy yoga poses that improve digestion

Sometimes it's that second cappuccino, sometimes it's one too many coconut shrimp, and more often than not it's just plain old stress. When tension is causing your indigestion, the cure is only a couple of feet away. Anxiety can block the body from breaking down food into fuel, says Saul David Raye, longtime practitioner of Indian and Thai healing techniques and cofounder of the Center for Sacred Movement in Santa Monica, CA. Learning to release anxiety at its base—in the feet—will ease the pressure your body is under while processing nutrients and dealing with impurities in food. "There are [points] in the feet that go directly to the organs that aid digestion," he says.

Raye recommends two simple tricks to relieve that stress and settle your stomach (not to mention make your feet feel better). He warns that the foot positions of these poses can be and should be painful for first-timers. "If you can find out where the pain is, it will point out where the blocks are," he says. "Stay with it for as many breaths as you can." Raye always starts class with these two foot stretches; he knows students have just eaten.

Deep Toe Bend According to Raye, this pose releases blocked energy in the feet, improving energy flow and balance throughout the body. Rid your feet of knots, and the ones in your stomach will simultaneously dissipate.

1. Sit on your knees. Then bend your toes underneath you and sit back on your heels. Only the bottom of your toes and the balls of your feet should touch the floor.

2. Begin to raise your knees off the floor and shift your body weight forward slightly, balancing with your hands on the floor if necessary. Apply weight to the pads of your toes. Expect discomfort. Habitual high-heel wearers, consider yourself warned that this will be no picnic for you.

3. Notice where the tenderness is and try to apply more body weight to that spot. Stay in that position as long as possible.

Foot Cross According to Raye, this pose opens up the energy pathways that begin at the sole of the foot.

1. Sit on your heels with the tops of your feet flat on the floor.

2. Lift slightly off your heels and cross your right foot over the middle of your left foot. Place the boniest part of the top of your right foot in the very middle of the outer edge of your left foot. Part of your right foot will hang over your left.

3. When the right foot bone is positioned, sit back on your heel. You will feel a radiating sensation through your left foot and possibly even up the back of your body.

4. Use your body weight to apply pressure gently to your right heel. Feel free to experiment with the amount. Press on the left acupressure point for as long as possible before switching sides.

5. After you've finished both sides, sit in a cross-legged seated position and notice where you feel different in your body.